It happens to many of us… you feel the extra weight getting added on to your body as the months roll by and you keep planning to do something about it. Every time you decide to act on it, you feel overwhelmed, especially with so many workout options available and so many different points of view.
Well, don’t be overwhelmed my friend, there is a simple and effective way to start losing weight and build your fitness. That way is combining bodyweight training and running.
Why both? Why not either one of them? Honestly, combining these two will give you the best bang for your buck. It will supercharge, or accelerate your weight loss, and who doesn’t want that?
Having said that, you don’t have to start by going all out. You must gradually build capacity and ability, but trust me, as you stay consistent, you’ll be surprised at how much progress you’re actually capable of!
Ok, let’s tackle the “Why” for both of these training protocols.
Running
Running burns calories, and when you want to lose weight, you want to get some extra calorie burn. The benefits of running aren’t limited to just calorie burn, even though that’s probably the primary benefit when we’re considering weight loss. Running will vastly improve your cardiovascular fitness, improving your heart health and your lung capacity. You won’t feel so tired and out of breath after any physical exertion and your energy levels will improve.
Bodyweight Training
Bodyweight training is the secret sauce in this weight loss recipe! Bodyweight training will help you preserve and gain muscle. Muscle is extremely important for weight loss, because muscle burns a lot of calories just to function. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even while resting! Muscle is key for weight loss, overall health, strength and longevity.
So using both running and bodyweight training together, is the way to achieve better fat loss and sustain it.
Who is it for?
Who does this approach work best for? Well, actually, anyone, but especially for beginners, somebody returning to exercise after a long time, busy professionals, new moms, anyone who either doesn’t want or doesn’t have gym access.
How do I start?
So how should you start? I would suggest 2 days of bodyweight exercises, 2 days of running and 2 days of light activity to begin with, for the first month. Something like;
Monday: Bodyweight Training
Tuesday: Running
Wednesday: Light activity
Thursday: Bodyweight Training
Friday: Running
Saturday: light activity
Sunday: Rest
Now let’s get to the main course.. the kind of running and bodyweight training you should start with.
Simply put, start easy, and gradually build up over weeks.
Beginner Running Tips
Start running at a comfortable pace, not hard, and run short distances, 100m or 200m, and walk the next 100m or 200m. Do this for 1km or 2km, whatever feels fine to you. Download Strava and use it to track your runs.
Stick with the total distance for the whole month, and within it just gradually increase the running intervals and lessen the walking sections, till you’re able to run most of the time. When that feels comfortable, slowly keep building up the total distance by 500mts or a kilometre as and when you begin to get better at the previous distance.
Beginner Bodyweight Training tips
For bodyweight training, focus on compound movements, exercises that use multiple joints and thus more muscle groups at a time. Examples of compound movements are;
Squats, Bridges, Pushups, Pullups or rows with bands, Good mornings, Step ups etc. Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions of each.
If that’s too hard, do less repetitions to start with and build up to more. Always do a gentle warm up and cool down before and after your workout to get you ready for movement and to aid recovery.
And there we have it… pretty simple, right?
Common beginner mistakes
You know what to do, but equally important, is what NOT to do. Don’t sabotage your new routine with these mistakes.
Don’t start too hard. Doing too much too soon is a common beginner mistake that can derail your entire plan by getting you injured.
Don’t ignore recovery. Your body adapts and builds during recovery, not during workouts. Good recovery ensures you’re physically and mentally prepared for your sessions.
Inconsistency is your biggest enemy!
Doing less consistently will get you further than doing lots once in a while. Adaptation and weight loss are heavily dependent on regular stimulus, which means consistency is everything.
Nutrition
Last of all, don’t rely only on workouts to lose weight. I cannot stress this enough. Proper nutrition is an essential element of weight loss. Working out and focusing on nutrition go hand in hand for successful weight loss and health. Workouts CANNOT overcome a bad diet.
When it comes to nutrition, there are two things to keep in mind. The overall calorie intake and the macros (macronutrients) of your meals.
What does this mean? Your body requires a certain number of calories per day at a certain weight, to just stay that way.. that’s your maintenance number of calories.
Calories in and Calories out
To lose weight, you should consume LESS than the maintenance level. Meaning you should be eating in a deficit. Find out your approximate maintenance by putting in your height, weight, gender etc on any calorie calculator that you can find on Google. Then see to it that you’re eating less than that daily. This is a very essential part of weight loss. Ignoring this will not get you the results that you’re working so hard for.
Macros
The second part is the macronutrients. To keep it simple, make sure that your protein intake is sufficient. Protein is the building block of muscle. You need muscle to lose weight as we discussed earlier, because muscle burns a lot of calories to exist, thus firing up your calorie burn. Aim for 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight to boost satiety, preserve muscle and accelerate weight loss.
Portion sizes
Learn to properly estimate portion sizes for yourself. It makes life simpler. Finally, don’t beat yourself up if you end up breaking your nice healthy eating streak one night at a friend’s party or an event. Just stay right on track from the next meal. One meal of indulgence won’t make much difference just like one day of hard working out won’t make anyone fit.
The mindset
Time to wrap this up in a nice neat bow. Trust me, weight loss and being a fit, healthy person is not a very complicated thing. It just requires you to begin to cultivate simple habits and routines. No need for complicated workouts and extreme diets. Starting with bodyweight training and running is a fantastic way to begin to build good habits.
You don’t need an expensive gym membership, you can do it on your own time and best of all, you will cultivate an independent fitness mindset, which will take you a long way. These two training protocols, bodyweight training and running, are a match made in heaven. Combining this with mindful eating allows you to lose weight, build strength, burn calories, improve your cardiovascular fitness and lung capacity, and change your body composition.
Just do it!
If you’re confused and unsure about how to start your weight loss and fitness journey, I strongly encourage you to start with this combination. You will be rewarded with a body that changes for the better, health that you will be thankful for and an ever improving disciplined mindset which is a very valuable asset.
Start immediately. It’s simple, it’s not hard when you start gradually, and you’ll be on your way to a new you in no time at all! Just do it!
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Join my online coaching programs at movestrongerfitness.com
Fitness and Lifestyle Coach.
Founder of MOVESTRONGER FITNESS.